Team Sonic Racing
|publisher = Sega Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Activision |producer = Larry Franco Lauren Shuler Donner Zack Snyder Simon Kinberg Don McGowan Takashi Iizuka |designer = Richard Acherki Derek Littlewood Ben Wilson |writer = Story: Michael Dougherty Ryan Fleck Rick Jaffa Amanda Silver Geneva Robertson-Dworet Matthew Fogel Screenplay: David Henry Hwang Roger Allers Geneva Robertson-Dworet Joss Whedon |director = Lasse Hallstrom Joe Johnston |protrammer - Chris Jackson Tim Furnish |artist = Kelvin Tuite Cris Lonergan-White |composer = Christopher Lennertz |genre = Racing |modes = Single-player, multiplayer |platforms = Microsoft Windows Nintendo Switch PlayStation 4 Xbox One |released = May 21, 2019 }} Team Sonic Racing is a 2019 kart racing game and a spinoff from Sega and Activision's Sonic the Hedgehog series. Controlling one of 15 characters from the series' cast, players compete in races using sports cars. They view gameplay from a third-person perspective while performing tricks, drifting, and collecting power-ups. Team Sonic Racing differs from traditional kart racers because of its focus on cooperative gameplay, similar to the kind featured in Splatoon (2015) and Overwatch (2016)—players are part of a team of racers and win races through efficiency rather than speed. Game modes include earning competing to earn points, time trials, customizing the racing rules, and a story-driven tutorial campaign. Sumo Digital, which worked on Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing (2010) and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (2012) (both with Neversoft), developed Team Sonic Racing with Vicarious Visions, Beenox, Toys for Bob and Avalanche Software. Producers Larry Franco, Lauren Shuler Donner, Zack Snyder, Simon Kinberg and Don McGowan conceived the cooperative gameplay, and Sumo Digital, Vicarious Visions and Avalanche Software used the team-based Sonic Heroes (2003) as a point of reference. Unlike Sumo Digital's previous racing games, Team Sonic Racing only features Sonic characters, as the team wanted to expand the series' world and character roster. They aimed to make the game stand out compared to other racing games and developed it using a modified version of the All-Stars game engine. Musician Hristopher Lennertz, who had not contributed to a major Sonic game since Generations (2011), composed and conducted the soundtrack. Team Sonic Racing existence came to light when a Sumo Digital, VV, Toys for Bob and Beenox memo leaked in January 2018, with Sega, Warner Bros. and Activision confirming it the following May. Its marketing campaign included appearances at trade shows, a one-shot comic from IDW Publishing, and a two-part animated series. The game was released on May 21, 2019 for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One, and received mixed reviews. Critics praised the team-based gameplay and track designs, but disliked the story mode and voice acting. Gameplay Team Sonic Racing is a Sonic the Hedgehog-themed kart racing game featuring single-player and multiplayer modes. After selecting one of 15 characters from the series' cast, }} players participate in races using sports cars on courses thematically based on locations from the franchise. There are three types of racing classes: speed, technique, and power. Each has their own unique abilities; for example, technique racers like Tails can drive over rough surfaces like grass without slowing down. The player views gameplay from a third-person perspective and runs over panels to get speed boosts, performs tricks in midair, and drifts to make sharp turns. Power-ups called Wisps can be collected from canisters with "?" marks and grant players temporary offensive and defensive advantages. The game differs from traditional kart racers because of its focus on cooperative gameplay: the player is part of a team of racers and they must work together. While each player in a team still takes control of a single racer, they must also pay attention to how teammates are performing and share power-ups. Instead of winning races by finishing fastest, teams get points based on how they worked together. Thus, the most efficient team wins. Four teams of three compete, for a total of twelve racers at a time. Any character can be in a team; the player also has the option for each teammate to be the same character. Working together causes an "Ultimate" meter to be filled. When full, it can be activated to gain a temporary burst of speed. The meter's duration can be extended by hitting competing racers. There are 21 tracks in total, including some returning from Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing (2010) and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (2012), each split across seven zones and based on locations from main Sonic games. Team Sonic Racing features a variety of game modes, including Grand Prix, in which players compete to earn points; Time Trial, in which players race for the fastest time possible; and Exhibition, in which players can customize the racing rules. One mode, "Team Adventure", is a story-driven campaign that serves as a tutorial and provides an explanation for why the characters are racing. It is divided into chapters and players must complete missions like collecting as many rings as possible. Unlike the main game, the teams in Team Adventure are predetermined. Progressing through Team Adventure will unlock extras that can be used in the other modes. Players can customize their vehicles, with new parts unlocked as they progress through the game. Parts modify cars' handling, boost, acceleration, defense, and top speed, and players can also make aesthetic changes such as paint jobs and horn sounds. The game supports four-player local multiplayer, up to twelve online, and up to three in Team Adventure. Plot 8 weeks after the Avengers defeat Thanos, a mysterious tanuki named Dodon Pa sends invitations to Sonic the Hedgehog Sr II (who is known as Sonicmus Prime) and several of his friends from Cybertron, inviting them to compete in a series of team-based races. He builds cars outfitted with advanced technology for each of the racers, offering them as a prize for the winning team. Though they are skeptical of Dodon Pa's motivations, Sonic Sr II and the others agree while Sonic Jr II, Leviathan, Fefnir, Harpuia, Cream, Espio and Charmy refused to accept and stay on Earth for the protection with the Autobots helping them. The competition takes them across the world, with Dodon Pa, Colonel and Iris pitting them against increasingly difficult challenges. During the competition, it is revealed that Dodon Pa is constructing the Ultimate Energy Engine, a device designed to generate power for the entire world. After unsuccessfully attempting to steal the engine, Doctor Eggman and his henchmen kidnap Dodon Pa and bring him to his Final Fortress battleship. Eggman forces Dodon Pa to create a new engine to power a doomsday robot, but it goes haywire and destroys the battleship. Sonic Sr II and his friends manage to rescue Dodon Pa with the help of the Autobots Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Windblade and Grimlock while Sonic Sr, Shadow, Terra and Aqua apprehend Eggman and his henchmen and sent to the S.H.I.E.L.D. Prison Island after Zavok betrays Eggman and switch sides with Sonic Sr II and his friends where he apologized for his past actisions before going to retirement at Lost Hex and reunite his fellow members, though the cars are destroyed in the process. As thanks for saving him, Dodon Pa builds everyone new cars, and they all prepare to race together again. Development The British video game developer Sumo Digital, Vicarious Visions, Beenox, Toys for Bob and Avalanche Software developed Team Sonic Racing for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One. It was Sumo Digital's third racing game with Vicarious Visions and Beenox featuring the Sonic intellectual property (IP), following Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. Sega, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Activision chose Sumo Digital, Vicarious Visions, Beenox, Toys for Bob and Avalanche Software to develop the game because of its experience with the Sonic IP. Development began before the completion of Sonic Mania and Sonic Forces in 2017. Unlike those titles, which featured action-oriented gameplay, Team Sonic Racing was aimed at casual gamers. The majority of the staff did not work on the previous games, although some who did were contacted for advice. The lead designer of the game was Richard Acherki, while Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka served as producer. Team Sonic Racing was Acherki's first game at Sumo Digital, Vicarious Visions, Beenox, Toys for Bob and Avalanche Software. According to Acherki, the proprietary game engine Team Sonic Racing runs on is a modified version of the one used to develop the Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing games, and allowed them to easily port the game across platforms. Unlike the Sonic & Sega All-Stars games, which featured various Sega and Activision franchises, Team Sonic Racing solely focuses on Sonic. Sega's community manager Aaron Webber said that Team Sonic Racing is not a sequel to Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed and is "very, very different" from previous Sonic racers. Iizuka explained that the team wanted to make a game that took place solely in the Sonic universe, which is why it does not bear the All-Stars name. He noted Sega, Warner Bros. and Activision used to release a variety of racing titles like Out Run (1986) and Daytona USA (1992), and said Team Sonic Racing continues this tradition. Webber added that the team wanted to expand the world and character roster of Sonic, and designer Derek Littlewood said setting the game in the Sonic universe allowed them use to the series' "full suite" of characters and elements. One of Sumo Digital's goals was to "provide plenty of fan service and also give people something new to look at and experience." Designer Ben Wilson called working on a Sonic game "surreal" and said the team enjoyed working with Sega, Warner Bros. Games and Activision. The game does not support cross-platform multiplayer, which Iizuka stated is because of technical constraints. Sumo Digital wanted to make Team Sonic Racing stand out compared to other racing games, and with the engine of previous games they had a solid foundation to build a new experience. Iizuka suggested that they design it so it was easy for beginners. Sumo Digital also wanted to build on the gameplay of ''Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing Transformed, which many players enjoyed. Iizuka conceived the team-based gameplay after watching his son play a kart racing game with his friends. He observed that they were not all happy and pondered how they could all enjoy the game. Observing other games, Sumo Digital found that team gameplay was popular; noting that racing games were largely single-player experiences, they decided combining the concepts would create a unique and exciting experience. Iizuka said Sumo Digital was not inspired by other kart racing games like Mario Kart 8 (2014) because the team wanted to make a game that emphasized teamwork instead of "a network game", citing Splatoon (2015) and Overwatch (2016) as examples of the cooperative gameplay Team Sonic Racing was designed to resemble. He also found it surprising there were few team-based racing games available. Designing the game was challenging because the teamwork aspect was an unusual concept for a racing game. Iizuka and the team found that, if the cooperative gameplay was too prominent, it would hamper with the fluidity of the gameplay. Sumo Digital used Sonic Heroes (2003), which features team-based gameplay, as a point of reference. Other difficulties arose from choosing characters for the roster. For instance, Vector the Crocodile, traditionally seen as a member of the Chaotix in Sonic games, is paired with Blaze the Cat and Silver the Hedgehog in Team Sonic Racing, which led to considerable debate among the team. They also had a hard time choosing courses with a variety of atmospheres. Each character received a unique car designed to reflect their individuality, while custom parts were made separately. Team Sonic Racing features several new versions of the Wisp power-ups from previous Sonic games. The Sega All-Stars titles included general power-ups since those games featured multiple franchises, but since Team Sonic Racing features simply Sonic, Sumo Digital unified the power-ups with Wisps. The team worked with the Japanese staff of Sonic Team to get approval for their concepts. Christopher Lennertz composed and conducted the soundtrack at The Newman Scoring Stage, 20th Century Fox Studios and The Bridge Recording, while Alexander Bornstein,, Chris Forsgren, Stuart Michael Thomas, Steve Mazzaro, Tee Lopes, Tyler Smyth of DangerKids, and the band Hyper Potions also contributed. The game's theme song, "Green Light Ride", was performed by Imagine Dragons and written by Lennertz and Glenn Slater. Iizuka said the team needed "cool" music that would "influence the player's excitement", which led him to ask Lennertz to compose the score. Kebbertz composed each track individually, collaborating with a different composer for each one. Release Team Sonic Racing is scheduled to be released by Sega, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Activision on May 21, 2019. It was initially slated for release in late 2018, but Sega delayed it that October to give Sumo Digital more development time. Shortly before the game's release, Iizuka clarified the delay was due to problems with the online mode, as fixing them took the team more time than they anticipated. Marketing Rumors of a new Sonic-themed racing game arose in January 2018, when an internal Sumo Digital memo mentioning an "unannounced karting game" based on an "established global IP" leaked. Sumo Digital's history with Sonic caused speculation that they were developing a new entry in the Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing series. Webber rejected this, saying he "saw rumors floating today about another SART game. Just wanted to confirm it's not a thing!" Despite his response, multiple toy production companies alluded to a future Sonic kart racing game in February 2018. For example, a representative for the company Zappies reported at the Spielwarenmesse toy fair in Nuremberg that a third Sonic kart racing game was in development and that it planned to produce promotional toy figures. Sonic fans noted Webber's comments just alluded to the Sega All-Stars name and did not discount the premise of a new Sonic racing game, and further rumors of a game without any other Sega IPs involved arose later in February. Sega, Warner Bros. and Activision scheduled a Sonic-related announcement for its March 16, 2018 show at the SXSW convention. While Sega, Warner Bros. and Activision did not reveal the racing game there, the official series Twitter account teased it. In May 2018, after leaking in a Walmart retail listing, Sega, Warner Bros. and Activision confirmed the game was in development for the Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One. Eurogamer expressed disappointment that it did not include any non-''Sonic'' characters as playable racers, which they believed was one of the best things about Sonic & Sega All Stars Racing and its sequel. However, they remained optimistic, believing Sumo Digital's experience with Sonic would ensure the game would be a similar, "fundamentally brilliant arcade racer". A demo version was playable at E3 2018 in June. The demo, which featured one track and six playable characters, was described by Kotaku as underwhelming, unfavorably comparing it to Mario Kart. It argued the demo lacked ambition and called its character lineup shallow, especially when compared to that of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. A more optimistic opinion came from IGN: although he considered the power-ups generic, the writer felt the game still had a good foundation and that the team gameplay was satisfying. Hardcore Gamer nominated it as E3's best racing game, but it lost to Forza Horizon 4. Sega, Warner Bros. and Activision released a trailer to promote the game at E3, featuring the theme song and an in-depth look at the gameplay. Another demo was playable at Gamescom in August 2018. More details were revealed, including the new character Dodon Pa, aspects of the story, and racetracks based on levels in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (1994) and Sonic Unleashed (2008). The game won the "Best Casual Game" award at the 2018 Gamescom Awards. Team Sonic Racing was also present at PAX West in August, where attendees were given an exclusive poster,Sega @sonicthehedgehog (August 31, 2018). "We're here at PAX! Come play Team Sonic Racing, score an exclusive poster, and more at the SEGA booth!". Retrieved September 6, 2018 – via Instagram. and the Tokyo Game Show in November. IDW Publishing released a promotional one-shot comic book, written by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles scribe Caleb Goellner and illustrated by ''Sonic'' comic artist Adam Bryce Thomas, in December 2018. The story is set before the game's events and features Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and their friends traveling to a mysterious planet and preventing "an old foe" from obtaining new technology. At SXSW in March 2019, the first episode of a two-part tie-in animated series, Team Sonic Racing Overdrive, was released, followed by the second episode in April. The series' animation was handled by Tyson Hesse and Neko Production, who previously produced the Sonic Mania (2017) tie-in Sonic Mania Adventures. On launch day, Sega, warner Bros. and ACtivision released a live-action trailer set in a supermarket, featuring a cameo from Iizuka. Sumo Digital, Avalanche Software and Vicarious Visions chose to offer all content at launch instead of selling some as downloadable content, and not to include microtransactions. Reception PS4: 72/100 XONE: 73/100 | Destruct = 7/10 | EuroG = Recommended | GI = 7.25/10 | GRadar = | GSpot = 7/10 | IGN = 8.5/10 | JXV = 14/20 | NLife = | USG = 3.5/5 | rev1 = The Guardian | rev1Score = | rev2 = Push Square | rev2Score= | rev3 = ScreenRant | rev3Score = | rev4 = Shacknews | rev4Score = 9/10 }} According to the review aggregator website Metacritic, Team Sonic Racing received "mixed or average reviews". It debuted at the top of the UK all-format sales charts—the first Sonic game to do so since Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games in 2008—with the PlayStation 4 version selling the most copies. Screen Rant observed that critics generally deemed it fun but inferior to the Sega All-Stars titles and Mario Kart 8, which they felt were presented better. Many critics of the game praised the team-based game play and the track designs as well. IGN stated, "Team Sonic Racing nails what matters most: speed and finesse on the racetrack. The new team system is a fantastic evolution of the arcade racing formula that gives you a real reason to work together, and there’s a litany of customization options to keep you coming back to these excellent tracks to earn more." Brian Shia of Game Informer stated, "Team Sonic Racing delivers a fun, easy-to-play experience that bolsters its adequate gameplay with distinct flavors to help it stand out from the rest of the genre." Nintendo Life gave the game a positive review, stating, "It’s strangely satisfying when you send some rockets to your 7th place chum and see their ranking climb a few moments later. Even though you’re just watching a number change, there’s an odd feeling of teamwork done well." Many were critical of the game's story mode. Game Informer also stated, "The Team Adventure story mode is an inconsequential narrative told through still character images over background environments, making the uninteresting plot even less engaging." Games Radar was also critical of the game's story mode stating, "Team Sonic Racing's campaign includes seven chapters of races, as well as other types of modes like ring collection, target smashes, and elimination rounds, tied together by horribly boring cutscenes made up of static character art. If you're looking to handle the majority of this one alone then the campaign will be your only option. Outside time trials, local play, and online multiplayer, there isn't much else you can play through when you first start out." Notes References External links *Official website Category:2019 video games Category:Sega video games Category:Sumo Digital games Category:Nintendo Switch games Category:Windows games Category:PlayStation 4 games Category:Xbox One games Category:Racing video games Category:Video games developed in the United Kingdom Category:Warner Bros. 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